Reviewed by Lesley
TITLE: Scoop Me Up
SERIES: Love in Maplewood
AUTHOR: Riley Long
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 236 Pages
RELEASE DATE: June 27, 2025
BLURB:
Falling for a straight guy is putting extra nuts in the rocky road to my life goals…
I have two dreams: opening my own ice cream shop and falling in love. My fantasy? Falling in love with a guy who’ll help me run my future ice cream shop.
But my teaching job doesn’t exactly have me rolling in dough, and my love life doesn’t exactly have sprinkles on top, so every year my dreams seem farther and farther away.
At least until this year, when I decide to compete in the Maplewood Scoopfest flavor competition. If I win, owning an ice cream shop would be within reach.
But the love life thing? Well, it’s even sadder now, because I have a huge crush on Gabe, the ridiculously hot, straight single dad to one of my students. He’s only in town for the summer, and—what the heck was I thinking?—I offered to let him stay in my guest bedroom. Now I have to see him, talk to him, hear him. All the time. Even my favorite ice cream isn’t enough distraction when all that deliciousness is right under my nose.
I’m resigned to pine in silence—to Gabe, that is. My friends are sick and tired of hearing about my pointless crush. Then, one night, he leans in for a kiss. But he’d been drinking and now I don’t know if that was just the whiskey talking, or if Gabe’s flavor preferences might just be changing.
With the highest percentage of LGBTQIA+ residents in Vermont, Maplewood is a town where everyone belongs. And with festivals year round, there’s always something fun happening! This multi-author, low-angst queer series features ten standalone romances—each set against the backdrop of a different festival. Come for the celebrations, stay for the happily-ever-afters!
REVIEW:
We are back in Maplewood and this time it’s the Maplewood Scoopfest , the annual ice cream making festival that is the back drop to this romance between Sam a non-binary elementary school teacher and Gabe a cisgender, “straight” single dad. This is a lovely book about finding love when you least expect it.
Sam has a dream to open an ice cream shop in Maplewood in honour of his nan. After winning the Maplewood Scoopfest flavour competition he now has enough funds to start making his dream a reality. The second-place winner in the competition is Ellie a little girl from his summer school reading class and her scrummy, new to town single dad, Gabe.
Gabe has come to stay in Maplewood for the summer, to look after his daughter Ellie, whilst his ex-wife goes travelling for the summer with her new boyfriend. He is delighted that he will be able to spend this much time with her. Due to his ex breaking up with her boyfriend after a week of their holiday he now finds himself needing to find somewhere to stay for the rest of the summer and unfortunately for him the inn is full. Fortunately for him Cooper Sam’s best friend is around to point out Sam has a spare room and Gabe has run out of options if he wants to carry on spending time with his daughter (and maybe her teacher)
I love being back in Maplewood. Where else can a non-binary teacher be totally accepted by all the kids they teach, all their parents, staff of the school and all the people in the small town they live. In fact there is no angst in this book at all even when Gabe is when he realises, he is not as straight as he thought he was, he is not worried, his ex wife accepts it and so does his third grade daughter. But what else do you expect in the town most LBTQIA+ residents in Vermont. Wouldn’t it be magical if all the rest of the world was the same.
RATING: 
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